MAYFLOWER PLAYGROUP HAYWARDS HEATH CIO (Reg. Charity No. 1181625) Page 1 of 2 TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT for 2023
Mayflower Playgroup was established in 1973. It is a registered CIO (no. 1181625) and operates in association with Christ Church Haywards Heath in West Sussex. The Playgroup continues to work in accordance with its constitution, maintaining its evangelical Christian ethos.
The Playgroup provides Sessional Care and Nursery Education on a non-profit-making basis, catering for children from two years to school-age, from the locality. Sessional care is offered five days a week, with varying lengths of day available. The playgroup offers a safe learning environment and high staff-to-child ratio to encourage maximum spiritual, intellectual, and physical development in preparing the children for their next developmental stage and for life and citizenship in general. The staff operate within the Early Years Foundation framework and best practices learned from their training.
Children are cared for in secure, safe, and suitable premises that are organised to provide a warm welcome to children and their parents. The provision of well-resourced workshop areas and appropriate projects allow children to develop their knowledge and understanding of the world. Staff seek to provide a range of learning opportunities and experiences for children both inside and outside. The outside area is used in all weather, and the planting and landscaping of this area have been worked on for the benefit of the children. Many of the children benefit from the use of a large hall on-site for weekly sporting activities with an outside provider.
The day-to-day running of the Playgroup is the responsibility of a Supervisor who reports regularly to the other Trustees. In 2023, Mrs Caroline Nicholls continued to lead the Playgroup as Supervisor in a dedicated and professional manner, ably assisted by Mrs Sarah Konig as Deputy Supervisor.
During the year ended December 2023, the following served as Trustees of the CIO: Andrew Billinghay (resigned March 2023) Sarah McQuaker (Chair of Trustees) Caroline Nicholls Mark Ventham Carol Eggleton (from November 2023) Elizabeth Martin (from November 2023) Ruth Nicholls (from November 2023)
This arrangement is in line with the Constitution of the CIO. We were thankful for the provision of new Trustees, who share a commitment to the aims, ethos and development of the Playgroup.
At the end of 2023, there were 9 permanent members of staff, which provided consistency of provision. The Playgroup was open on Mondays to Fridays for 38 weeks of the year. The daily session length varied from 3 hours to 5.5 hours in accordance with statutory requirements.
There was an average of 28 children per morning with a total of 48 children on register over the year. We are grateful for the continued provision of young children attending the Playgroup.
During this year, the staff of Mayflower continued to prioritise caring for the children and helping them to settle and flourish; seeking to offer them rich experiences in line with EYFS themes. Staff also took time to speak with families to support them as needed. End of term services were held, to which many parents and relatives came.
The Playgroup celebrated its 50[th] anniversary with a family fun day in July and a special feature in a service at Christ Church, Haywards Heath in September. Invitations to the family fun event were sent to current and former parents, children and staff, as well as others connected with the setting. A good number of people came along and enjoyed looking at old photos, playing games and eating cake. At the service, we gave thanks to God for the work of Mayflower and the service it has given families in the community over 50 years.
MAYFLOWER PLAYGROUP HAYWARDS HEATH CIO (Reg. Charity No. 1181625) Page 2 of 2 TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT for 2023
The coronation of King Charles III was also celebrated with a family picnic in the setting, which was a happy event.
The Playgroup continued to support a number of children with additional needs as well as speech and language needs and continued to welcome a number of children with English as an additional language.
The Playgroup operates in accordance with a financial plan approved by the Trustees. Income is derived primarily from the ‘Free Entitlement’ payment from West Sussex County Council (WSCC). The Playgroup receives some additional income from fees paid by parents of children who are too young to qualify for the Free Entitlement provision. Fees are set at an affordable level for parents, commensurate with the grant provided for funded children.
The Playgroup expends all funds to meet the operating costs of the Playgroup, including the cost of paying staff and purchasing learning and welfare resources to enhance the provision of Sessional Care and Nursery Education, as well as maintaining the fabric of the setting. Funding received for children with additional needs was spent to purchase equipment to enable these children to benefit from their day-to-day experience in the setting and for their peers to enjoy alongside them. Staff continued to attend training events as required (Safeguarding and First Aid); to develop good practices, and to continue learning in line with the EYFS statutory framework.
The Playgroup has continued to benefit from the ongoing generosity of Christ Church Haywards Heath in providing premises for use by Mayflower at a discounted rate.
Total cash reserves at the end of 2023 were £72,000. Of this, £30,000 is held with the aim, in the event of the unexpected closure of the playgroup, of meeting the costs of giving parents and staff at least half a term’s notice of any closure plans plus meeting all financial obligations including staff redundancy pay. The cash reserves enabled the setting to maintain good staffing levels above statutory ratios, and to be able to cope with the increasing cost of utilities and daily essentials, as well as resourcing the setting in response to the children’s needs. The Famly App continues to benefit the setting, assisting with communication with parents, as well as with staffing and invoicing.
We were thankful for the additional Local Authority funding received this year (September 23 to April 24), and anticipate further news of the proposed national changes to funding arrangements for 2-year olds. The Trustees remain confident that ongoing management of costs, coupled with the stable Local Authority funding rate, will enable the Playgroup to maintain a stable reserve position for 2024. However, playgroups such as Mayflower continue to see significant increases in annual costs and it will be essential to the longerterm financial stability of such playgroups that Local authority rates for funded places continue to increase annually in line with inflation.
The Trustees continued to review the financial position of the Playgroup and how best to reduce the administrative load of the Supervisor.
On this 50[th] year, the Trustees are thankful to the Lord that the Playgroup has continued to be provided for financially and wish to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of the Playgroup staff that has led to such a secure, loving and developmentally valuable setting for young children and their families.
SIGNED
Sarah McQuaker On behalf of the Trustees
10 October, 2024
Mayflower Playgroup CIO
11
Receipts and payments acco
For the period 01/01/2023 To from
Section A Receipts and payments
Unrestricted Restricted Endowment funds funds funds
to the nearest £
to the nearest £ to the nearest £
Receipts
| Receipts | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fees from Council funded places | 92,068 | - | - | ||
| Fees from Privately funded places | 21,789 | - | - | ||
| Other Income | 4,000 | - | - | ||
| - | - | - | |||
| - | - | - | |||
| - | - | - | |||
| - | - | - | |||
| - | - | - | |||
| **Total receipts ** | 117,857 | - | - |
Payments
| Payments | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Staff Costs | 89,105 | - | - | ||
| Rent and Utilities | 6,743 | - | - | ||
| Equipment | 1,417 | - | - | ||
| Insurance | 1,015 | - | - | ||
| Training | 587 | - | - | ||
| Administration | 347 | - | - | ||
| Accountancy | - | - | - | ||
| Other Expenses | 9,465 | - | - | ||
| - | - | - | |||
| **Total Payments ** | 108,679 | - | - |
| - - - - |
- - - |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net of receipts/(payments) Transfers between funds funds from prior years Cash funds this year end |
9,178 | - | ||
| - | - | - | ||
| 63,013 | - | - | ||
| 72,191 | - | - |
Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the
Unrestricted funds
Categories
Details
Cash funds
| to nearest £ | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bank Accounts | 72,115 | ||||
| Petty Cash | 76 | ||||
| - | |||||
| (agree balances with receipts and payments account(s)) Total cash funds |
OK |
72,191 |
Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees
| Signature | Print N |
|---|---|
| Sarah Mc | |
| Mark Ve |
NOTE: The CIO was formed on 18th January 2019. On 1st August 2019, the CIO took on the Charitable also known as Mayflower Playgroup (registered Charity number 1072441). It also received cash assets f together with payments for amounts received by the Trust on behalf of the CIO.
NOTE; Cash funds include an advance payment from the Local Authority for fees due during the Spring
181625
ounts
CC16a
31/12/2023
Total funds
Last year
to the nearest £
to the nearest £
| 92,068 | 90,069 | |
|---|---|---|
| 21,789 | 14,336 | |
| 4,000 | 5,735 | |
| - | - | |
| - | - | |
| - | - | |
| - | - | |
| - | - | |
| 117,857 | 110,140 |
| 89,105 | 87,774 | |
|---|---|---|
| 6,743 | 4,535 | |
| 1,417 | 1,338 | |
| 1,015 | 954 | |
| 587 | 690 | |
| 347 | 354 | |
| - | - | |
| 9,465 | 10,105 | |
| - | - | |
| 108,679 | 105,750 |
| 9,178 | 4,390 | |
|---|---|---|
| - | - | |
| 63,013 | 58,623 | |
| 72,191 | 63,013 |
period Restricted Endowment funds funds
| to nearest £ - - - - OK Name Quaker entham |
to nearest £ |
|---|---|
| - | |
| - | |
| - | |
| - | |
| OK | |
| Date of approval |
|
activities of the Charitable Trust from the Charitable Trust
term 2024.
37 Marlow Drive Haywards Heath West Sussex RH16 3SR 21" May 2024 MAYFLOWER PLAYGROUP CIO Report of Examiner Accounts for the year ending 31 December 2023 I have examined the accounts for the Mayflower Playgroup CIO to the year ended 31" December 2023 and believe the accounts agree to the underlying records. l am satlsfied that the records and reports are adequate and that the expenses/cost control is adequate. Paul Arkell